I realize as I’m checking into Blantyre that my jacket is misbuttoned, with one side hanging much lower than the other. Normally this would not be an issue, but I’m at the US equivalent of Downton Abbey, and Carson has just greeted me at the door.

Blantyre is the veddy elegant Tudor-style country estate built in 1902, with stables and potting shed dating to the late 19th century. It is in these stables — or the Carriage House, as it is now called — that my husband and I are staying on a Saturday night in late April. We were looking for the cheap seats, taking advantage of off-season rates and the off-season option of staying only one night on a weekend.